SuperBeetles.Com

December 1, 2009: Sorry about the late site update but my wife and I just got back from a weeks holiday in sunny Cuba. We stayed at a beautiful resort on the island of Cayo Guillermo. This unspoiled paradise is home to only four resorts and we were at the all-inclusive Iberostar Daiquiri. The weather was a perfect 30c and we never had a spot of rain during our week of relaxation. As far as VW's go there wasn't one to be spotted, but that could be due to the fact that with only the four hotels on the island there are no Cubans living there. All of them come to work via a bus that drops them off in the morning and takes them back home to the town of Moron at the end of the day. The food was great, the drinks cold and the water was turquoise and teeming with fish. What a great getaway from the Canadian winter blues!

As far as the web site goes this is officially the last feature . I've run out and without any new ones on hand I'm not going to be able to update them every month. I am considering only sending out the newsletter four times a year until this starts to pick up again. So if you or someone you know has a Beetle, PLEASE take the time to send me in a few photos and a short story. This web site only works when people like YOU contribute. Thanks to all of those who have!

December 4, 2009: I went to my P.O. box today and got a nice surprise! Inside was the latest copy of Vintage Voice newsletter from the Vintage Volkswagen Club of America, and on page 21 was my article "Putting Your Bug to Bed". Since the demise of VW Trends it was nice to see something that I wrote in print once again Thanks VVWCA!

December 21, 2009: Christmas is one of my favorite holidays and this years its brought some great news! My son Wes is moving back to Toronto from Ottawa and my Beetle is probably sold. The new owner is supposed to come in tomorrow and pay for it and then it will be loaded onto a flatbed truck and shipped to its new home in Oakville Ontario. There's a great story behind the sale but I don't want to tell it until the deal is done, stay tuned.

December 24, 2009: Hey there, it's Christmas Eve and I just sat down after a nice meal from Eddy's Wok N' Roll. I picked my mom up on the way home from work and she is going to be spending Christmas at our house. I also have some news for you all and here it is...Our 1975 La Grande Beetle has officially found a new home. The story began when I started to get the itch for a convertible a few months ago. We had a 1971 Fiat Spyder in the past, and I had countless motorcycles and wanted get that open-air feeling once again. For those of you that have driven in one or on a motorcycle you know exactly what I'm talking about.

So I put the Super up for sale on The Samba, Craig's List, Kijiji, the Auto Trader and got a few bites. One guy was a collector that wanted a "Gold car." This wouldn't be my idea for buying a vehicle but who am I to judge? He had owned a few VWs in the past and had about 20 various cars, so he really was a car guy like me. The second individual that was interested was 21 years old and according to him, "had a grandfather that would buy him anything that he wanted." Now this was one of the weirdest things that has ever happened to me. He would call me up and go over all of these various scenarios of what his Russian grandfather might say to me during the negotiation process. I was told that he liked to bargain hard so I had better bump up the price so he could talk me down to what I wanted to get for it. Sounded reasonable so far. Then he asked me what I would respond with if his grandfather said, "You don't know how to bargain, maybe you don't get l**d much, or, you don't know how to bargain, maybe you don't have anything between your legs." He really said these things, really. I did come up with a few smart replies but after he called me back a few times I started to think the whole thing was a bit too strange for me and that I was getting punked. So I told him to call me when he was ready to look at the Bug and I'd deal with grandfather then. I thought that this was the end of it all but I got another call back saying that they would like to come to see it last Thursday. They never showed. By this time I had the stored it at work and had given up trying to sell it until Spring. This was fine for me because I could get a little more cash for it then I wasn't really in a hurry to say goodbye just yet.

Then I got a call from Lou. He asked if the Beetle was still for sale as it was not listed in Auto Trader anymore. I told him it was and he agreed to come down and see it. It turned out that it was to be a Birthday/Christmas present for his wife. She had owned a Beetle when she was 18 and had always wanted to have another. Lou showed up at my work and he was a super nice guy. He works in the same field as me and it really touched my heart that he would do such a nice thing for his wife Beverly. This is something that people wish that they could do for someone they love and Lou was going to make it happen. He fell in love with the Beetle and bought it on the spot, without even putting it up on the hoist or driving it. I got it certified and Emilio at Progress Motors had to change the left rear wheel cylinder as it was leaking. After that it was picked up by a flatbed tow truck and delivered right on time for that special day. I would have loved to had been there when she saw it for the first time! Inside the Beetle I left a note from Caroline and I saying "We hope that this Beetle brings as much joy to you as it has to us over the past 14 years and happy Beetling". Since then we've exchanged a few emails and she is ecstatic about her new Bug. Bev says that she keeps looking at it in garage and can't believe that it's hers. She promised to take good care of it and we've arranged "visitation rights" for the summer. I could not be happier that our Beetle has found a loving home and I know that it will continue to bring smiles to all of the new friends that it will make. Goodbye Goldie, you'll be missed.

December 25, 2009: I hope that you have a very Merry Christmas wherever you are and thank you for taking the time to read my blog. It's back to work on Tuesday and then New Years Eve is just around the corner. We are going to be spending it at Jay and Jens place, WOO-HOO!